Authorities say Stevie Marie Vigil bought a gun and gave it to Evan Ebel, a convicted felon. / AP

by Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY

by Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY

A 22-year-old woman has been arrested by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation on charges of illegally providing a 9mm handgun believed used to kill Colorado prisons chief Tom Clements.

Stevie Marie Vigil, 22, of Commerce City, Colo., was arrested Wednesday night on suspicion of illegally transferring the weapon to Evan Ebel, a convicted felon, in what is known as a "straw purchase."

El Paso County authorities say the Smith & Wesson firearm was used in the killing of Clements, director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, who was shot when he answered the front door of his home in Monument on March 19.

Authorities say the weapon was also used by Ebel, 28, during a shootout with Texas officers March 21 following a high-speed chase northwest of Dallas.

Ebel, who died from wounds sustained during the gunfight, was driving a black Cadillac similar to one spotted outside Clements' home the night he was shot.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation believes Vigil bought the weapon from a licensed firearms dealer in the Denver suburb of Englewood and, in early March, transferred it illegally to Ebel, who was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his criminal record.

The CBI said the dealer had been "extremely cooperative" with investigators and had no knowledge of Vigil's intentions after legally purchasing the weapon.

Vigil's arrest record was sealed and the CBI said only that she was picked up based on information developed during the course of the investigation.

Vigil was being held on $25,000 bail in Arapahoe County jail. If convicted, she could face 2-16 years in prison.

Ebel is also suspected of shooting and killing 27-year-old pizza deliveryman, Nathan Leon, on the weekend before Clements was shot.

Ebel, a member of a white-supremacist prison gang, was paroled in January after serving four years for punching a prison guard in 2008. He had also been convicted of holding a pistol to an acquaintance's head and stealing his wallet.

Authorities said they have not established a motive in the Clements killing.